US11183183B2 - Systems and methods of operating media playback systems having multiple voice assistant services - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods for managing multiple voice assistants are disclosed. Audio input is received via one or more microphones of a playback device. A first activation word is detected in the audio input via the playback device. After detecting the first activation word, the playback device transmits a voice utterance of the audio input to a first voice assistant service (VAS). The playback device receives, from the first VAS, first content to be played back via the playback device. The playback device also receives, from a second VAS, second content to be played back via the playback device. The playback device plays back the first content while suppressing the second content. Such suppression can include delaying or canceling playback of the second content.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, to methods, systems, products, features, services, and other elements directed to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loud setting were limited until in 2002, when SONOS, Inc. began development of a new type of playback system. Sonos then filed one of its first patent applications in 2003, entitled “Method for Synchronizing Audio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering its first media playback systems for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless Home Sound System enables people to experience music from many sources via one or more networked playback devices. Through a software control application installed on a controller (e.g., smartphone, tablet, computer, voice input device), one can play what she wants in any room having a networked playback device. Media content (e.g., songs, podcasts, video sound) can be streamed to playback devices such that each room with a playback device can play back corresponding different media content. In addition, rooms can be grouped together for synchronous playback of the same media content, and/or the same media content can be heard in all rooms synchronously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technology may be better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, as listed below. A person skilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown in the drawings are for purposes of illustrations, and variations, including different and/or additional features and arrangements thereof, are possible.

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of an environment having a media playback system configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the media playback system ofFIG. 1A and one or more networks.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of a network microphone device.

FIG. 1G is a block diagram of a playback device.

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of a control device.

FIGS. 1I through 1L are schematic diagrams of corresponding media playback system zones.

FIG. 1M is a schematic diagram of media playback system areas.

FIG. 2A is a front isometric view of a playback device configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 2B is a front isometric view of the playback device ofFIG. 3A without a grille.

FIG. 2C is an exploded view of the playback device ofFIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is a front view of a network microphone device configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 3B is a side isometric view of the network microphone device ofFIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is an exploded view of the network microphone device ofFIGS. 3A and 3B.

FIG. 3D is an enlarged view of a portion ofFIG. 3B.

FIG. 3E is a block diagram of the network microphone device ofFIGS. 3A-3D

FIG. 3F is a schematic diagram of an example voice input.

FIGS. 4A-4D are schematic diagrams of a control device in various stages of operation in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 5 is front view of a control device.

FIG. 6 is a message flow diagram of a media playback system.

FIG. 7 is an example message flow diagram between a media playback system and first and second voice assistant services.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method for managing content from first and second voice assistant services.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for managing activation-word detection during playback of content from a voice assistant service.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments, but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the technology disclosed herein is not limited to the arrangements and/or instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONI. Overview

Voice control can be beneficial for a “smart” home having smart appliances and related devices, such as wireless illumination devices, home-automation devices (e.g., thermostats, door locks, etc.), and audio playback devices. In some implementations, networked microphone devices (which may be a component of a playback device) may be used to control smart home devices. A network microphone device will typically include a microphone for receiving voice inputs. The network microphone device can forward voice inputs to a voice assistant service (VAS), such as AMAZON's ALEXA®, APPLE's SIRI®, MICROSOFT's CORTANA®, GOOGLE's Assistant, etc. A VAS may be a remote service implemented by cloud servers to process voice inputs. A VAS may process a voice input to determine an intent of the voice input. Based on the response, the network microphone device may cause one or more smart devices to perform an action. For example, the network microphone device may instruct an illumination device to turn on/off based on the response to the instruction from the VAS.

A voice input detected by a network microphone device will typically include an activation word followed by an utterance containing a user request. The activation word is typically a predetermined word or phrase used to “wake up” and invoke the VAS for interpreting the intent of the voice input. For instance, in querying AMAZON's ALEXA, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa.” Other examples include “Ok, Google” for invoking GOOGLE's Assistant, and “Hey, Siri” for invoking APPLE's SIRI, or “Hey, Sonos” for a VAS offered by SONOS. In various embodiments, an activation word may also be referred to as, e.g., a wake-, trigger-, wakeup-word or phrase, and may take the form of any suitable word; combination of words, such as phrases; and/or audio cues indicating that the network microphone device and/or an associated VAS is to invoke an action.

It can be difficult to manage the association between various playback devices with two or more corresponding VASes. For example, although a user may wish to utilize multiple VASes within her home, a response received from one VAS may interrupt a response or other content received from a second VAS. Such interruptions can be synchronous, for example when a response from a second VAS interrupts a response from a first VAS. Additionally, such interruptions can be asynchronous, for example when a response from a second VAS interrupts a pre-scheduled event (e.g., an alarm) from the first VAS.

The systems and methods detailed herein address the above-mentioned challenges of managing associations between one or more playback devices and two or more VASes. In particular, systems and methods are provided for managing the communications and output between a playback device and two or more VASes to enhance the user experience. Although several examples are provided below with respect to managing interactions with two VASes, in various embodiments there may be additional VASes (e.g., three, four, five, six, or more VASes).

As described in more detail below, in some instances a playback device can manage multiple VASes by arbitrating playback of content received from different VASes content. For example, a playback device can detect an activation word in audio input, and then transmit a voice utterance of the audio input to a first VAS. The first VAS may then respond with content (e.g., a text-to-speech response) to be played back via the playback device, after which the playback device may then play back the content. At any point in this process, the playback device may concurrently receive second content from a second VAS, for example a pre-scheduled alarm, a user broadcast, a text-to-speech response, or any other content. In response to receiving this second content, the playback device can dynamically determine how to handle playback. As one option, the playback device may suppress the second content from the second VAS to avoid unduly interrupting the response played back from the first VAS. Such suppression can take the form of delaying playback of the second content or canceling playback of the second content. Alternatively, the playback device may allow the second content to interrupt the first content, for example by suppressing playback of the first content while allowing the second content to be played back. In some embodiments, the playback device determines which content to play and which to suppress based on the characteristics of the respective content—for example allowing a scheduled alarm from a second VAS to interrupt a podcast from a first VAS, but suppressing a user broadcast from a second VAS during output of a text-to-speech response from a first VAS.

As described in more detail below, in some instances a playback device can manage multiple VASes by arbitrating activation-word detection associated with different VASes. For example, the playback device may selectively disable activation-word detection for a second VAS while a user is actively engaging with a first VAS. This reduces the risk of the second VAS erroneously interrupting the user's dialogue with the first VAS upon detecting its own activation word. This also preserves user privacy by eliminating the possibility of a user's voice input intended for one VAS being transmitted to a different VAS. Once the user has concluded her dialogue session with the first VAS, the playback device may re-enable activation-word detection for the second VAS. These and other rules allow playback devices to manage playback of content from multiple different VASes without compromising the user experience.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed by given actors such as “users,” “listeners,” and/or other entities, it should be understood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claims should not be interpreted to require action by any such example actor unless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves.

In the Figures, identical reference numbers identify generally similar, and/or identical, elements. To facilitate the discussion of any particular element, the most significant digit or digits of a reference number refers to the Figure in which that element is first introduced. For example,element110ais first introduced and discussed with reference toFIG. 1A. Many of the details, dimensions, angles and other features shown in the Figures are merely illustrative of particular embodiments of the disclosed technology. Accordingly, other embodiments can have other details, dimensions, angles and features without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments of the various disclosed technologies can be practiced without several of the details described below.

II. Suitable Operating Environment

FIG. 1A is a partial cutaway view of amedia playback system100 distributed in an environment101 (e.g., a house). Themedia playback system100 comprises one or more playback devices110 (identified individually asplayback devices110a-n), one or more network microphone devices (“NMDs”),120 (identified individually asNMDs120a-c), and one or more control devices130 (identified individually ascontrol devices130aand130b).

As used herein the term “playback device” can generally refer to a network device configured to receive, process, and output data of a media playback system. For example, a playback device can be a network device that receives and processes audio content. In some embodiments, a playback device includes one or more transducers or speakers powered by one or more amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, a playback device includes one of (or neither of) the speaker and the amplifier. For instance, a playback device can comprise one or more amplifiers configured to drive one or more speakers external to the playback device via a corresponding wire or cable.

Moreover, as used herein the term NMD (i.e., a “network microphone device”) can generally refer to a network device that is configured for audio detection. In some embodiments, an NMD is a stand-alone device configured primarily for audio detection. In other embodiments, an NMD is incorporated into a playback device (or vice versa).

The term “control device” can generally refer to a network device configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and/or configuration of themedia playback system100.

Each of theplayback devices110 is configured to receive audio signals or data from one or more media sources (e.g., one or more remote servers, one or more local devices) and play back the received audio signals or data as sound. The one ormore NMDs120 are configured to receive spoken word commands, and the one or more control devices130 are configured to receive user input. In response to the received spoken word commands and/or user input, themedia playback system100 can play back audio via one or more of theplayback devices110. In certain embodiments, theplayback devices110 are configured to commence playback of media content in response to a trigger. For instance, one or more of theplayback devices110 can be configured to play back a morning playlist upon detection of an associated trigger condition (e.g., presence of a user in a kitchen, detection of a coffee machine operation). In some embodiments, for example, themedia playback system100 is configured to play back audio from a first playback device (e.g., the playback device100a) in synchrony with a second playback device (e.g., the playback device100b). Interactions between theplayback devices110,NMDs120, and/or control devices130 of themedia playback system100 configured in accordance with the various embodiments of the disclosure are described in greater detail below with respect toFIGS. 1B-6.

In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 1A, theenvironment101 comprises a household having several rooms, spaces, and/or playback zones, including (clockwise from upper left) amaster bathroom101a, amaster bedroom101b, asecond bedroom101c, a family room orden101d, anoffice101e, aliving room101f, adining room101g, akitchen101h, and an outdoor patio101i. While certain embodiments and examples are described below in the context of a home environment, the technologies described herein may be implemented in other types of environments. In some embodiments, for example, themedia playback system100 can be implemented in one or more commercial settings (e.g., a restaurant, mall, airport, hotel, a retail or other store), one or more vehicles (e.g., a sports utility vehicle, bus, car, a ship, a boat, an airplane), multiple environments (e.g., a combination of home and vehicle environments), and/or another suitable environment where multi-zone audio may be desirable.

Themedia playback system100 can comprise one or more playback zones, some of which may correspond to the rooms in theenvironment101. Themedia playback system100 can be established with one or more playback zones, after which additional zones may be added, or removed to form, for example, the configuration shown inFIG. 1A. Each zone may be given a name according to a different room or space such as theoffice101e,master bathroom101a,master bedroom101b, thesecond bedroom101c,kitchen101h,dining room101g,living room101f, and/or the balcony101i. In some aspects, a single playback zone may include multiple rooms or spaces. In certain aspects, a single room or space may include multiple playback zones.

In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 1A, themaster bathroom101a, thesecond bedroom101c, theoffice101e, theliving room101f, thedining room101g, thekitchen101h, and the outdoor patio101ieach include oneplayback device110, and themaster bedroom101band theden101dinclude a plurality ofplayback devices110. In themaster bedroom101b, theplayback devices110land110mmay be configured, for example, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual ones ofplayback devices110, as a bonded playback zone, as a consolidated playback device, and/or any combination thereof. Similarly, in theden101d, theplayback devices110h-jcan be configured, for instance, to play back audio content in synchrony as individual ones ofplayback devices110, as one or more bonded playback devices, and/or as one or more consolidated playback devices. Additional details regarding bonded and consolidated playback devices are described below with respect toFIGS. 1B, 1E, and 1I-1M.

In some aspects, one or more of the playback zones in theenvironment101 may each be playing different audio content. For instance, a user may be grilling on the patio101iand listening to hip hop music being played by theplayback device110cwhile another user is preparing food in thekitchen101hand listening to classical music played by theplayback device110b. In another example, a playback zone may play the same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. For instance, the user may be in theoffice101elistening to theplayback device110fplaying back the same hip hop music being played back byplayback device110con the patio101i. In some aspects, theplayback devices110cand110fplay back the hip hop music in synchrony such that the user perceives that the audio content is being played seamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) while moving between different playback zones. Additional details regarding audio playback synchronization among playback devices and/or zones can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

a. Suitable Media Playback System

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of themedia playback system100 and acloud network102. For ease of illustration, certain devices of themedia playback system100 and thecloud network102 are omitted fromFIG. 1B. The various playback, network microphone, andcontroller devices110,120,130 and/or other network devices of theMPS100 may be coupled to one another via point-to-point connections and/or over other connections, which may be wired and/or wireless, via aLAN111 including anetwork router109. For example, theplayback device110jin theDen101d(FIG. 1A), which may be designated as the “Left” device, may have a point-to-point connection with theplayback device110k, which is also in theDen101dand may be designated as the “Right” device. In a related embodiment, theLeft playback device110jmay communicate with other network devices, such as theplayback device110h, which may be designated as the “Front” device, via a point-to-point connection and/or other connections via theLAN111.

In addition to the playback, network microphone, andcontroller devices110,120, and130, thehome environment101 may include additional and/or other computing devices, including local network devices, such as one or more smart illumination devices108 (FIG. 1B), asmart thermostat111, and a local computing device. In embodiments described below, one or more of thevarious playback devices110 may be configured as portable playback devices, while others may be configured as stationary playback devices. For example, the headphones110o(FIG. 1B) are a portable playback device, while theplayback device110eon the bookcase may be a stationary device. As another example, theplayback device110con the Patio may be a battery-powered device, which may allow it to be transported to various areas within theenvironment101, and outside of theenvironment101, when it is not plugged in to a wall outlet or the like.

As further shown inFIG. 1B, theMPS100 may be coupled to one or moreremote computing devices106 via a wide area network (“WAN”)102. In some embodiments, eachremote computing device106 may take the form of one or more cloud servers. Theremote computing devices106 may be configured to interact with computing devices in theenvironment101 in various ways. For example, theremote computing devices106 may be configured to facilitate streaming and/or controlling playback of media content, such as audio, in thehome environment101.

In some implementations, the various playback devices, NMDs, and/orcontroller devices110,120,130 may be communicatively coupled to remote computing devices associated with one or more VASes and at least one remote computing device associated with a media content service (“MCS”). For instance, in the illustrated example ofFIG. 1B,remote computing devices106aare associated with afirst VAS190,remote computing devices106bare associated with asecond VAS191, andremote computing devices106care associated with anMCS192. Although only a twoVASes190,191 and asingle MCS192 are shown in the example ofFIG. 1B for purposes of clarity, theMPS100 may be coupled to additional, different VASes and/or MCSes. In some implementations, VASes may be operated by one or more of AMAZON, GOOGLE, APPLE, MICROSOFT, SONOS or other voice assistant providers. In some implementations, MCSes may be operated by one or more of SPOTIFY, PANDORA, AMAZON MUSIC, or other media content services.

Theremote computing devices106 further include remote computing devices configured to perform certain operations, such as remotely facilitating media playback functions, managing device and system status information, directing communications between the devices of theMPS100 and one or multiple VASes and/or MCSes, among other operations. In one example, the additional remote computing devices provide cloud servers for one or more SONOS Wireless HiFi Systems.

In various implementations, one or more of theplayback devices110 may take the form of or include an on-board (e.g., integrated) network microphone device. For example, theplayback devices110k,110h,110c,110e, and110ginclude or are otherwise equipped withcorresponding NMDs120e-i, respectively. A playback device that includes or is equipped with an NMD may be referred to herein interchangeably as a playback device or an NMD unless indicated otherwise in the description. In some cases, one or more of theNMDs120 may be a stand-alone device. For example, the NMDs120aand120bmay be stand-alone devices. A stand-alone NMD may omit components and/or functionality that is typically included in a playback device, such as a speaker or related electronics. For instance, in such cases, a stand-alone NMD may not produce audio output or may produce limited audio output (e.g., relatively low-quality audio output).

The various playback andnetwork microphone devices110 and120 of theMPS100 may each be associated with a unique name, which may be assigned to the respective devices by a user, such as during setup of one or more of these devices. For instance, as shown in the illustrated example ofFIG. 1B, a user may assign the name “Bookcase” toplayback device110ebecause it is physically situated on a bookcase. Some playback devices may be assigned names according to a zone or room, such as theplayback devices110g,110d,110b, and110f, which are named “Bedroom,” “Dining Room,” “Kitchen,” and “Office,” respectively. Further, certain playback devices may have functionally descriptive names. For example, theplayback devices110kand110hare assigned the names “Right” and “Front,” respectively, because these two devices are configured to provide specific audio channels during media playback in the zone of theDen101d(FIG. 1A). Theplayback device110cin the Patio may be named portable because it is battery-powered and/or readily transportable to different areas of theenvironment101. Other naming conventions are possible.

As discussed above, an NMD may detect and process sound from its environment, such as sound that includes background noise mixed with speech spoken by a person in the NMD's vicinity. For example, as sounds are detected by the NMD in the environment, the NMD may process the detected sound to determine if the sound includes speech that contains voice input intended for the NMD and ultimately a particular VAS. For example, the NMD may identify whether speech includes a wake word associated with a particular VAS.

In the illustrated example ofFIG. 1B, theNMDs120 are configured to interact with thefirst VAS190 and/or thesecond VAS191 over a network via theLAN111 and therouter109. Interactions with theVASes190 and191 may be initiated, for example, when an NMD identifies in the detected sound a potential wake word. The identification causes a wake-word event, which in turn causes the NMD to begin transmitting detected-sound data to either thefirst VAS190 or thesecond VAS191, depending on the particular potential wake word identified in the detected sound. In some implementations, the various local network devices and/orremote computing devices106 of theMPS100 may exchange various feedback, information, instructions, and/or related data with the remote computing devices associated with the selected VAS. Such exchanges may be related to or independent of transmitted messages containing voice inputs. In some embodiments, the remote computing device(s) and themedia playback system100 may exchange data via communication paths as described herein and/or using a metadata exchange channel as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 15/438,749 filed Feb. 21, 2017, and titled “Voice Control of a Media Playback System,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Upon receiving the stream of sound data, thefirst VAS190 determines if there is voice input in the streamed data from the NMD, and if so thefirst VAS190 will also determine an underlying intent in the voice input. Thefirst VAS190 may next transmit a response back to theMPS100, which can include transmitting the response directly to the NMD that caused the wake-word event. The response is typically based on the intent that thefirst VAS190 determined was present in the voice input. As an example, in response to thefirst VAS190 receiving a voice input with an utterance to “Play Hey Jude by The Beatles,” thefirst VAS190 may determine that the underlying intent of the voice input is to initiate playback and further determine that intent of the voice input is to play the particular song “Hey Jude.” After these determinations, thefirst VAS190 may transmit a command to aparticular MCS192 to retrieve content (i.e., the song “Hey Jude”), and thatMCS192, in turn, provides (e.g., streams) this content directly to theMPS100 or indirectly via thefirst VAS190. In some implementations, thefirst VAS190 may transmit to the MPS100 a command that causes theMPS100 itself to retrieve the content from theMCS192. Thesecond VAS191 may operate similarly to thefirst VAS190 when receiving a stream of sound data.

In certain implementations, NMDs may facilitate arbitration amongst one another when voice input is identified in speech detected by two or more NMDs located within proximity of one another. For example, the NMD-equippedBookcase playback device110ein the environment101 (FIG. 1A) is in relatively close proximity to theNMD120b, and bothdevices110eand120bmay at least sometimes detect the same sound. In such cases, this may require arbitration as to which device is ultimately responsible for providing detected-sound data to the remote VAS. Examples of arbitrating between NMDs may be found, for example, in previously referenced U.S. application Ser. No. 15/438,749.

In certain implementations, an NMD may be assigned to, or otherwise associated with, a designated or default playback device that may not include an NMD. For example, theNMD120ain theDining Room101g(FIG. 1A) may be assigned to the DiningRoom playback device110d, which is in relatively close proximity to theNMD120a. In practice, an NMD may direct an assigned playback device to play audio in response to a remote VAS receiving a voice input from the NMD to play the audio, which the NMD might have sent to the VAS in response to a user speaking a command to play a certain song, album, playlist, etc. Additional details regarding assigning NMDs and playback devices as designated or default devices may be found, for example, in previously referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/438,749.

Further aspects relating to the different components of theexample MPS100 and how the different components may interact to provide a user with a media experience may be found in the following sections. While discussions herein may generally refer to theexample MPS100, technologies described herein are not limited to applications within, among other things, the home environment described above. For instance, the technologies described herein may be useful in other home environment configurations comprising more or fewer of any of the playback, network microphone, and/orcontroller devices110,120,130. For example, the technologies herein may be utilized within an environment having asingle playback device110 and/or asingle NMD120. In some examples of such cases, the LAN111 (FIG. 1B) may be eliminated and thesingle playback device110 and/or thesingle NMD120 may communicate directly with theremote computing devices106a-c. In some embodiments, a telecommunication network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, etc.) may communicate with the various playback, network microphone, and/orcontroller devices110,120,130 independent of a LAN.

b. Suitable Playback Devices

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of theplayback device110acomprising an input/output111. The input/output111 can include an analog I/O111a(e.g., one or more wires, cables, and/or other suitable communication links configured to carry analog signals) and/or a digital I/O111b(e.g., one or more wires, cables, or other suitable communication links configured to carry digital signals). In some embodiments, the analog I/O111ais an audio line-in input connection comprising, for example, an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-in connection. In some embodiments, the digital I/O111bcomprises a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) communication interface and/or cable and/or a Toshiba Link (TOSLINK) cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O111bcomprises a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interface and/or cable. In some embodiments, the digital I/O111bincludes one or more wireless communication links comprising, for example, a radio frequency (RF), infrared, WiFi, Bluetooth, or another suitable communication protocol. In certain embodiments, the analog I/O111aand the digital111bcomprise interfaces (e.g., ports, plugs, jacks) configured to receive connectors of cables transmitting analog and digital signals, respectively, without necessarily including cables.

Theplayback device110a, for example, can receive media content (e.g., audio content comprising music and/or other sounds) from alocal audio source105 via the input/output111 (e.g., a cable, a wire, a PAN, a Bluetooth connection, an ad hoc wired or wireless communication network, and/or another suitable communication link). Thelocal audio source105 can comprise, for example, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer) or another suitable audio component (e.g., a television, a desktop computer, an amplifier, a phonograph, a Blu-ray player, a memory storing digital media files). In some aspects, thelocal audio source105 includes local music libraries on a smartphone, a computer, a networked-attached storage (NAS), and/or another suitable device configured to store media files. In certain embodiments, one or more of theplayback devices110,NMDs120, and/or control devices130 comprise thelocal audio source105. In other embodiments, however, the media playback system omits thelocal audio source105 altogether. In some embodiments, theplayback device110adoes not include an input/output111 and receives all audio content via the network104.

Theplayback device110afurther compriseselectronics112, a user interface113 (e.g., one or more buttons, knobs, dials, touch-sensitive surfaces, displays, touchscreens), and one or more transducers114 (referred to hereinafter as “thetransducers114”). Theelectronics112 is configured to receive audio from an audio source (e.g., the local audio source105) via the input/output111, one or more of thecomputing devices106a-cvia the network104 (FIG. 1B)), amplify the received audio, and output the amplified audio for playback via one or more of thetransducers114. In some embodiments, theplayback device110aoptionally includes one or more microphones115 (e.g., a single microphone, a plurality of microphones, a microphone array) (hereinafter referred to as “themicrophones115”). In certain embodiments, for example, theplayback device110ahaving one or more of theoptional microphones115 can operate as an NMD configured to receive voice input from a user and correspondingly perform one or more operations based on the received voice input.

In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 1C, theelectronics112 comprise one ormore processors112a(referred to hereinafter as “theprocessors112a”),memory112b,software components112c, anetwork interface112d, one or moreaudio processing components112g(referred to hereinafter as “theaudio components112g”), one or moreaudio amplifiers112h(referred to hereinafter as “theamplifiers112h”), andpower112i(e.g., one or more power supplies, power cables, power receptacles, batteries, induction coils, Power-over Ethernet (POE) interfaces, and/or other suitable sources of electric power). In some embodiments, theelectronics112 optionally include one or more other components112j(e.g., one or more sensors, video displays, touchscreens, battery charging bases).

Theprocessors112acan comprise clock-driven computing component(s) configured to process data, and thememory112bcan comprise a computer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, data storage loaded with one or more of thesoftware components112c) configured to store instructions for performing various operations and/or functions. Theprocessors112aare configured to execute the instructions stored on thememory112bto perform one or more of the operations. The operations can include, for example, causing theplayback device110ato retrieve audio data from an audio source (e.g., one or more of thecomputing devices106a-c(FIG. 1B)), and/or another one of theplayback devices110. In some embodiments, the operations further include causing theplayback device110ato send audio data to another one of theplayback devices110aand/or another device (e.g., one of the NMDs120). Certain embodiments include operations causing theplayback device110ato pair with another of the one ormore playback devices110 to enable a multi-channel audio environment (e.g., a stereo pair, a bonded zone).

Theprocessors112acan be further configured to perform operations causing theplayback device110ato synchronize playback of audio content with another of the one ormore playback devices110. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, during synchronous playback of audio content on a plurality of playback devices, a listener will preferably be unable to perceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content by theplayback device110aand the other one or moreother playback devices110. Additional details regarding audio playback synchronization among playback devices can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395, which was incorporated by reference above.

In some embodiments, thememory112bis further configured to store data associated with theplayback device110a, such as one or more zones and/or zone groups of which theplayback device110ais a member, audio sources accessible to theplayback device110a, and/or a playback queue that theplayback device110a(and/or another of the one or more playback devices) can be associated with. The stored data can comprise one or more state variables that are periodically updated and used to describe a state of theplayback device110a. Thememory112bcan also include data associated with a state of one or more of the other devices (e.g., theplayback devices110,NMDs120, control devices130) of themedia playback system100. In some aspects, for example, the state data is shared during predetermined intervals of time (e.g., every 5 seconds, every 10 seconds, every 60 seconds) among at least a portion of the devices of themedia playback system100, so that one or more of the devices have the most recent data associated with themedia playback system100.

Thenetwork interface112dis configured to facilitate a transmission of data between theplayback device110aand one or more other devices on a data network such as, for example, the links103 and/or the network104 (FIG. 1B). Thenetwork interface112dis configured to transmit and receive data corresponding to media content (e.g., audio content, video content, text, photographs) and other signals (e.g., non-transitory signals) comprising digital packet data including an Internet Protocol (IP)-based source address and/or an IP-based destination address. Thenetwork interface112dcan parse the digital packet data such that theelectronics112 properly receives and processes the data destined for theplayback device110a.

In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 1C, thenetwork interface112dcomprises one or morewireless interfaces112e(referred to hereinafter as “thewireless interface112e”). Thewireless interface112e(e.g., a suitable interface comprising one or more antennae) can be configured to wirelessly communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., one or more of theother playback devices110,NMDs120, and/or control devices130) that are communicatively coupled to the network104 (FIG. 1B) in accordance with a suitable wireless communication protocol (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE). In some embodiments, thenetwork interface112doptionally includes awired interface112f(e.g., an interface or receptacle configured to receive a network cable such as an Ethernet, a USB-A, USB-C, and/or Thunderbolt cable) configured to communicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordance with a suitable wired communication protocol. In certain embodiments, thenetwork interface112dincludes thewired interface112fand excludes thewireless interface112e. In some embodiments, theelectronics112 excludes thenetwork interface112daltogether and transmits and receives media content and/or other data via another communication path (e.g., the input/output111).

Theaudio components112gare configured to process and/or filter data comprising media content received by the electronics112 (e.g., via the input/output111 and/or thenetwork interface112d) to produce output audio signals. In some embodiments, theaudio processing components112gcomprise, for example, one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC), audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, a digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other suitable audio processing components, modules, circuits, etc. In certain embodiments, one or more of theaudio processing components112gcan comprise one or more subcomponents of theprocessors112a. In some embodiments, theelectronics112 omits theaudio processing components112g. In some aspects, for example, theprocessors112aexecute instructions stored on thememory112bto perform audio processing operations to produce the output audio signals.

Theamplifiers112hare configured to receive and amplify the audio output signals produced by theaudio processing components112gand/or theprocessors112a. Theamplifiers112hcan comprise electronic devices and/or components configured to amplify audio signals to levels sufficient for driving one or more of thetransducers114. In some embodiments, for example, theamplifiers112hinclude one or more switching or class-D power amplifiers. In other embodiments, however, the amplifiers include one or more other types of power amplifiers (e.g., linear gain power amplifiers, class-A amplifiers, class-B amplifiers, class-AB amplifiers, class-C amplifiers, class-D amplifiers, class-E amplifiers, class-F amplifiers, class-G and/or class H amplifiers, and/or another suitable type of power amplifier). In certain embodiments, theamplifiers112hcomprise a suitable combination of two or more of the foregoing types of power amplifiers. Moreover, in some embodiments, individual ones of theamplifiers112hcorrespond to individual ones of thetransducers114. In other embodiments, however, theelectronics112 includes a single one of theamplifiers112hconfigured to output amplified audio signals to a plurality of thetransducers114. In some other embodiments, theelectronics112 omits theamplifiers112h.

The transducers114 (e.g., one or more speakers and/or speaker drivers) receive the amplified audio signals from theamplifier112hand render or output the amplified audio signals as sound (e.g., audible sound waves having a frequency between about 20 Hertz (Hz) and 20 kilohertz (kHz)). In some embodiments, thetransducers114 can comprise a single transducer. In other embodiments, however, thetransducers114 comprise a plurality of audio transducers. In some embodiments, thetransducers114 comprise more than one type of transducer. For example, thetransducers114 can include one or more low frequency transducers (e.g., subwoofers, woofers), mid-range frequency transducers (e.g., mid-range transducers, mid-woofers), and one or more high frequency transducers (e.g., one or more tweeters). As used herein, “low frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies below about 500 Hz, “mid-range frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies between about 500 Hz and about 2 kHz, and “high frequency” can generally refer to audible frequencies above 2 kHz. In certain embodiments, however, one or more of thetransducers114 comprise transducers that do not adhere to the foregoing frequency ranges. For example, one of thetransducers114 may comprise a mid-woofer transducer configured to output sound at frequencies between about 200 Hz and about 5 kHz.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered) for sale certain playback devices including, for example, a “SONOS ONE,” “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,” “PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “BEAM,” “PLAYBASE,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Other suitable playback devices may additionally or alternatively be used to implement the playback devices of example embodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, one of ordinary skilled in the art will appreciate that a playback device is not limited to the examples described herein or to SONOS product offerings. In some embodiments, for example, one ormore playback devices110 comprises wired or wireless headphones (e.g., over-the-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, in-ear earphones). In other embodiments, one or more of theplayback devices110 comprise a docking station and/or an interface configured to interact with a docking station for personal mobile media playback devices. In certain embodiments, a playback device may be integral to another device or component such as a television, a lighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use. In some embodiments, a playback device omits a user interface and/or one or more transducers. For example,FIG. 1D is a block diagram of aplayback device110pcomprising the input/output111 andelectronics112 without theuser interface113 ortransducers114.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram of a bonded playback device110qcomprising theplayback device110a(FIG. 1C) sonically bonded with theplayback device110i(e.g., a subwoofer) (FIG. 1A). In the illustrated embodiment, theplayback devices110aand110iare separate ones of theplayback devices110 housed in separate enclosures. In some embodiments, however, the bonded playback device110qcomprises a single enclosure housing both theplayback devices110aand110i. The bonded playback device110qcan be configured to process and reproduce sound differently than an unbonded playback device (e.g., theplayback device110aofFIG. 1C) and/or paired or bonded playback devices (e.g., theplayback devices110land110mofFIG. 1B). In some embodiments, for example, theplayback device110ais full-range playback device configured to render low frequency, mid-range frequency, and high frequency audio content, and theplayback device110iis a subwoofer configured to render low frequency audio content. In some aspects, theplayback device110a, when bonded with the first playback device, is configured to render only the mid-range and high frequency components of a particular audio content, while theplayback device110irenders the low frequency component of the particular audio content. In some embodiments, the bonded playback device110qincludes additional playback devices and/or another bonded playback device. Additional playback device embodiments are described in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 2A-3D.

c. Suitable Network Microphone Devices (NMDs)

FIG. 1F is a block diagram of theNMD120a(FIGS. 1A and 1B). TheNMD120aincludes one or more voice processing components124 (hereinafter “thevoice components124”) and several components described with respect to theplayback device110a(FIG. 1C) including theprocessors112a, thememory112b, and themicrophones115. TheNMD120aoptionally comprises other components also included in theplayback device110a(FIG. 1C), such as theuser interface113 and/or thetransducers114. In some embodiments, theNMD120ais configured as a media playback device (e.g., one or more of the playback devices110), and further includes, for example, one or more of theaudio components112g(FIG. 1C), theamplifiers114, and/or other playback device components. In certain embodiments, theNMD120acomprises an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as, for example, a thermostat, alarm panel, fire and/or smoke detector, etc. In some embodiments, theNMD120acomprises themicrophones115, thevoice processing124, and only a portion of the components of theelectronics112 described above with respect toFIG. 1B. In some aspects, for example, theNMD120aincludes theprocessor112aand thememory112b(FIG. 1B), while omitting one or more other components of theelectronics112. In some embodiments, theNMD120aincludes additional components (e.g., one or more sensors, cameras, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers).

In some embodiments, an NMD can be integrated into a playback device.FIG. 1G is a block diagram of aplayback device110rcomprising anNMD120d. Theplayback device110rcan comprise many or all of the components of theplayback device110aand further include themicrophones115 and voice processing124 (FIG. 1F). Theplayback device110roptionally includes anintegrated control device130c. Thecontrol device130ccan comprise, for example, a user interface (e.g., theuser interface113 ofFIG. 1B) configured to receive user input (e.g., touch input, voice input) without a separate control device. In other embodiments, however, theplayback device110rreceives commands from another control device (e.g., thecontrol device130aofFIG. 1B). Additional NMD embodiments are described in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 3A-3F.

Referring again toFIG. 1F, themicrophones115 are configured to acquire, capture, and/or receive sound from an environment (e.g., theenvironment101 ofFIG. 1A) and/or a room in which theNMD120ais positioned. The received sound can include, for example, vocal utterances, audio played back by theNMD120aand/or another playback device, background voices, ambient sounds, etc. Themicrophones115 convert the received sound into electrical signals to produce microphone data. Thevoice processing124 receives and analyzes the microphone data to determine whether a voice input is present in the microphone data. The voice input can comprise, for example, an activation word followed by an utterance including a user request. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, an activation word is a word or other audio cue that signifying a user voice input. For instance, in querying the AMAZON® VAS, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa.” Other examples include “Ok, Google” for invoking the GOOGLE® VAS and “Hey, Siri” for invoking the APPLE® VAS.

After detecting the activation word,voice processing124 monitors the microphone data for an accompanying user request in the voice input. The user request may include, for example, a command to control a third-party device, such as a thermostat (e.g., NEST® thermostat), an illumination device (e.g., a PHILIPS HUE® lighting device), or a media playback device (e.g., a Sonos® playback device). For example, a user might speak the activation word “Alexa” followed by the utterance “set the thermostat to 68 degrees” to set a temperature in a home (e.g., theenvironment101 ofFIG. 1A). The user might speak the same activation word followed by the utterance “turn on the living room” to turn on illumination devices in a living room area of the home. The user may similarly speak an activation word followed by a request to play a particular song, an album, or a playlist of music on a playback device in the home. Additional description regarding receiving and processing voice input data can be found in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 3A-3F.

d. Suitable Control Devices

FIG. 1H is a partially schematic diagram of thecontrol device130a(FIGS. 1A and 1B). As used herein, the term “control device” can be used interchangeably with “controller” or “control system.” Among other features, thecontrol device130ais configured to receive user input related to themedia playback system100 and, in response, cause one or more devices in themedia playback system100 to perform an action(s) or operation(s) corresponding to the user input. In the illustrated embodiment, thecontrol device130acomprises a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone) on which media playback system controller application software is installed. In some embodiments, thecontrol device130acomprises, for example, a tablet (e.g., an iPad™), a computer (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer), and/or another suitable device (e.g., a television, an automobile audio head unit, an IoT device). In certain embodiments, thecontrol device130acomprises a dedicated controller for themedia playback system100. In other embodiments, as described above with respect toFIG. 1G, thecontrol device130ais integrated into another device in the media playback system100 (e.g., one more of theplayback devices110,NMDs120, and/or other suitable devices configured to communicate over a network).

Thecontrol device130aincludeselectronics132, auser interface133, one ormore speakers134, and one ormore microphones135. Theelectronics132 comprise one ormore processors132a(referred to hereinafter as “theprocessors132a”), amemory132b, software components132c, and anetwork interface132d. Theprocessor132acan be configured to perform functions relevant to facilitating user access, control, and configuration of themedia playback system100. Thememory132bcan comprise data storage that can be loaded with one or more of the software components executable by the processor302 to perform those functions. The software components132ccan comprise applications and/or other executable software configured to facilitate control of themedia playback system100. Thememory112bcan be configured to store, for example, the software components132c, media playback system controller application software, and/or other data associated with themedia playback system100 and the user.

Thenetwork interface132dis configured to facilitate network communications between thecontrol device130aand one or more other devices in themedia playback system100, and/or one or more remote devices. In some embodiments, thenetwork interface132 is configured to operate according to one or more suitable communication industry standards (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3, wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4G, LTE). Thenetwork interface132dcan be configured, for example, to transmit data to and/or receive data from theplayback devices110, theNMDs120, other ones of the control devices130, one of thecomputing devices106 ofFIG. 1B, devices comprising one or more other media playback systems, etc. The transmitted and/or received data can include, for example, playback device control commands, state variables, playback zone and/or zone group configurations. For instance, based on user input received at theuser interface133, thenetwork interface132dcan transmit a playback device control command (e.g., volume control, audio playback control, audio content selection) from the control device304 to one or more of theplayback devices100. Thenetwork interface132dcan also transmit and/or receive configuration changes such as, for example, adding/removing one ormore playback devices100 to/from a zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forming a bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devices from a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Additional description of zones and groups can be found below with respect toFIGS. 1I through 1M.

Theuser interface133 is configured to receive user input and can facilitate ‘control of themedia playback system100. Theuser interface133 includesmedia content art133a(e.g., album art, lyrics, videos), aplayback status indicator133b(e.g., an elapsed and/or remaining time indicator), mediacontent information region133c, aplayback control region133d, and azone indicator133e. The mediacontent information region133ccan include a display of relevant information (e.g., title, artist, album, genre, release year) about media content currently playing and/or media content in a queue or playlist. Theplayback control region133dcan include selectable (e.g., via touch input and/or via a cursor or another suitable selector) icons to cause one or more playback devices in a selected playback zone or zone group to perform playback actions such as, for example, play or pause, fast forward, rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode, enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode, etc. Theplayback control region133dmay also include selectable icons to modify equalization settings, playback volume, and/or other suitable playback actions. In the illustrated embodiment, theuser interface133 comprises a display presented on a touch screen interface of a smartphone (e.g., an iPhone™, an Android phone). In some embodiments, however, user interfaces of varying formats, styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented on one or more network devices to provide comparable control access to a media playback system.

The one or more speakers134 (e.g., one or more transducers) can be configured to output sound to the user of thecontrol device130a. In some embodiments, the one or more speakers comprise individual transducers configured to correspondingly output low frequencies, mid-range frequencies, and/or high frequencies. In some aspects, for example, thecontrol device130ais configured as a playback device (e.g., one of the playback devices110). Similarly, in some embodiments thecontrol device130ais configured as an NMD (e.g., one of the NMDs120), receiving voice commands and other sounds via the one ormore microphones135.

The one ormore microphones135 can comprise, for example, one or more condenser microphones, electret condenser microphones, dynamic microphones, and/or other suitable types of microphones or transducers. In some embodiments, two or more of themicrophones135 are arranged to capture location information of an audio source (e.g., voice, audible sound) and/or configured to facilitate filtering of background noise. Moreover, in certain embodiments, thecontrol device130ais configured to operate as playback device and an NMD. In other embodiments, however, thecontrol device130aomits the one ormore speakers134 and/or the one ormore microphones135. For instance, thecontrol device130amay comprise a device (e.g., a thermostat, an IoT device, a network device) comprising a portion of theelectronics132 and the user interface133 (e.g., a touch screen) without any speakers or microphones. Additional control device embodiments are described in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 4A-4D and 5.

e. Suitable Playback Device Configurations

FIGS. 1I through 1M show example configurations of playback devices in zones and zone groups. Referring first toFIG. 1M, in one example, a single playback device may belong to a zone. For example, theplayback device110gin thesecond bedroom101c(FIG. 1A) may belong to Zone C. In some implementations described below, multiple playback devices may be “bonded” to form a “bonded pair” which together form a single zone. For example, the playback device110l(e.g., a left playback device) can be bonded to the playback device110l(e.g., a left playback device) to form Zone A. Bonded playback devices may have different playback responsibilities (e.g., channel responsibilities). In another implementation described below, multiple playback devices may be merged to form a single zone. For example, theplayback device110h(e.g., a front playback device) may be merged with theplayback device110i(e.g., a subwoofer), and theplayback devices110jand110k(e.g., left and right surround speakers, respectively) to form a single Zone D. In another example, theplayback devices110gand110hcan be merged to form a merged group or azone group108b. Themerged playback devices110gand110hmay not be specifically assigned different playback responsibilities. That is, themerged playback devices110hand110imay, aside from playing audio content in synchrony, each play audio content as they would if they were not merged.

Each zone in themedia playback system100 may be provided for control as a single user interface (UI) entity. For example, Zone A may be provided as a single entity named Master Bathroom. Zone B may be provided as a single entity named Master Bedroom. Zone C may be provided as a single entity named Second Bedroom.

Playback devices that are bonded may have different playback responsibilities, such as responsibilities for certain audio channels. For example, as shown inFIG. 1-I, theplayback devices110land110mmay be bonded so as to produce or enhance a stereo effect of audio content. In this example, the playback device110lmay be configured to play a left channel audio component, while theplayback device110kmay be configured to play a right channel audio component. In some implementations, such stereo bonding may be referred to as “pairing.”

Additionally, bonded playback devices may have additional and/or different respective speaker drivers. As shown inFIG. 1J, theplayback device110hnamed Front may be bonded with theplayback device110inamed SUB. TheFront device110hcan be configured to render a range of mid to high frequencies and theSUB device110ican be configured render low frequencies. When unbonded, however, theFront device110hcan be configured render a full range of frequencies. As another example,FIG. 1K shows the Front andSUB devices110hand110ifurther bonded with Left andRight playback devices110jand110k, respectively. In some implementations, the Right andLeft devices110jand102kcan be configured to form surround or “satellite” channels of a home theater system. The bondedplayback devices110h,110i,110j, and110kmay form a single Zone D (FIG. 1M).

Playback devices that are merged may not have assigned playback responsibilities, and may each render the full range of audio content the respective playback device is capable of. Nevertheless, merged devices may be represented as a single UI entity (i.e., a zone, as discussed above). For instance, theplayback devices110aand110nthe master bathroom have the single UI entity of Zone A. In one embodiment, theplayback devices110aand110nmay each output the full range of audio content eachrespective playback devices110aand110nare capable of, in synchrony.

In some embodiments, an NMD is bonded or merged with another device so as to form a zone. For example, theNMD120bmay be bonded with theplayback device110e, which together form Zone F, named Living Room. In other embodiments, a stand-alone network microphone device may be in a zone by itself. In other embodiments, however, a stand-alone network microphone device may not be associated with a zone. Additional details regarding associating network microphone devices and playback devices as designated or default devices may be found, for example, in previously referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/438,749.

Zones of individual, bonded, and/or merged devices may be grouped to form a zone group. For example, referring toFIG. 1M, Zone A may be grouped with Zone B to form azone group108athat includes the two zones. Similarly, Zone G may be grouped with Zone H to form thezone group108b. As another example, Zone A may be grouped with one or more other Zones C-I. The Zones A-I may be grouped and ungrouped in numerous ways. For example, three, four, five, or more (e.g., all) of the Zones A-I may be grouped. When grouped, the zones of individual and/or bonded playback devices may play back audio in synchrony with one another, as described in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395. Playback devices may be dynamically grouped and ungrouped to form new or different groups that synchronously play back audio content.

In various implementations, the zones in an environment may be the default name of a zone within the group or a combination of the names of the zones within a zone group. For example,Zone Group108bcan have be assigned a name such as “Dining+Kitchen”, as shown inFIG. 1M. In some embodiments, a zone group may be given a unique name selected by a user.

Certain data may be stored in a memory of a playback device (e.g., thememory112cofFIG. 1C) as one or more state variables that are periodically updated and used to describe the state of a playback zone, the playback device(s), and/or a zone group associated therewith. The memory may also include the data associated with the state of the other devices of the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices so that one or more of the devices have the most recent data associated with the system.

In some embodiments, the memory may store instances of various variable types associated with the states. Variables instances may be stored with identifiers (e.g., tags) corresponding to type. For example, certain identifiers may be a first type “a1” to identify playback device(s) of a zone, a second type “b1” to identify playback device(s) that may be bonded in the zone, and a third type “c1” to identify a zone group to which the zone may belong. As a related example, identifiers associated with thesecond bedroom101cmay indicate that the playback device is the only playback device of the Zone C and not in a zone group. Identifiers associated with the Den may indicate that the Den is not grouped with other zones but includes bondedplayback devices110h-110k. Identifiers associated with the Dining Room may indicate that the Dining Room is part of the Dining+Kitchen zone group108band thatdevices110band110dare grouped (FIG. 1L). Identifiers associated with the Kitchen may indicate the same or similar information by virtue of the Kitchen being part of the Dining+Kitchen zone group108b. Other example zone variables and identifiers are described below.

In yet another example, themedia playback system100 may variables or identifiers representing other associations of zones and zone groups, such as identifiers associated with Areas, as shown inFIG. 1M. An area may involve a cluster of zone groups and/or zones not within a zone group. For instance,FIG. 1M shows anUpper Area109aincluding Zones A-D, and aLower Area109bincluding Zones E-I. In one aspect, an Area may be used to invoke a cluster of zone groups and/or zones that share one or more zones and/or zone groups of another cluster. In another aspect, this differs from a zone group, which does not share a zone with another zone group. Further examples of techniques for implementing Areas may be found, for example, in U.S. application Ser. No. 15/682,506 filed Aug. 21, 2017 and titled “Room Association Based on Name,” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,483,853 filed Sep. 11, 2007, and titled “Controlling and manipulating groupings in a multi-zone media system.” Each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In some embodiments, themedia playback system100 may not implement Areas, in which case the system may not store variables associated with Areas.

III. Example Systems and Devices

FIG. 2A is a front isometric view of aplayback device210 configured in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.FIG. 2B is a front isometric view of theplayback device210 without agrille216e.FIG. 2C is an exploded view of theplayback device210. Referring toFIGS. 2A-2C together, theplayback device210 comprises ahousing216 that includes anupper portion216a, a right orfirst side portion216b, a lower portion216c, a left orsecond side portion216d, thegrille216e, and arear portion216f. A plurality offasteners216g(e.g., one or more screws, rivets, clips) attaches aframe216hto thehousing216. Acavity216j(FIG. 2C) in thehousing216 is configured to receive theframe216handelectronics212. Theframe216his configured to carry a plurality of transducers214 (identified individually inFIG. 2B as transducers214a-f). The electronics212 (e.g., theelectronics112 ofFIG. 1C) is configured to receive audio content from an audio source and send electrical signals corresponding to the audio content to the transducers214 for playback.

The transducers214 are configured to receive the electrical signals from theelectronics112, and further configured to convert the received electrical signals into audible sound during playback. For instance, the transducers214a-c(e.g., tweeters) can be configured to output high frequency sound (e.g., sound waves having a frequency greater than about 2 kHz). Thetransducers214d-f(e.g., mid-woofers, woofers, midrange speakers) can be configured output sound at frequencies lower than the transducers214a-c(e.g., sound waves having a frequency lower than about 2 kHz). In some embodiments, theplayback device210 includes a number of transducers different than those illustrated inFIGS. 2A-2C. For example, as described in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 3A-3C, theplayback device210 can include fewer than six transducers (e.g., one, two, three). In other embodiments, however, theplayback device210 includes more than six transducers (e.g., nine, ten). Moreover, in some embodiments, all or a portion of the transducers214 are configured to operate as a phased array to desirably adjust (e.g., narrow or widen) a radiation pattern of the transducers214, thereby altering a user's perception of the sound emitted from theplayback device210.

In the illustrated embodiment ofFIGS. 2A-2C, afilter216iis axially aligned with thetransducer214b. Thefilter216ican be configured to desirably attenuate a predetermined range of frequencies that thetransducer214boutputs to improve sound quality and a perceived sound stage output collectively by the transducers214. In some embodiments, however, theplayback device210 omits thefilter216i. In other embodiments, theplayback device210 includes one or more additional filters aligned with thetransducers214band/or at least another of the transducers214.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front and right isometric side views, respectively, of anNMD320 configured in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed technology.FIG. 3C is an exploded view of theNMD320.FIG. 3D is an enlarged view of a portion ofFIG. 3B including auser interface313 of theNMD320. Referring first toFIGS. 3A-3C, theNMD320 includes ahousing316 comprising anupper portion316a, alower portion316band anintermediate portion316c(e.g., a grille). A plurality of ports, holes orapertures316din theupper portion316aallow sound to pass through to one or more microphones315 (FIG. 3C) positioned within thehousing316. The one ormore microphones316 are configured to received sound via theapertures316dand produce electrical signals based on the received sound. In the illustrated embodiment, aframe316e(FIG. 3C) of thehousing316 surroundscavities316fand316gconfigured to house, respectively, afirst transducer314a(e.g., a tweeter) and a second transducer314b(e.g., a mid-woofer, a midrange speaker, a woofer). In other embodiments, however, theNMD320 includes a single transducer, or more than two (e.g., two, five, six) transducers. In certain embodiments, theNMD320 omits thetransducers314aand314baltogether.

Electronics312 (FIG. 3C) includes components configured to drive thetransducers314aand314b, and further configured to analyze audio data corresponding to the electrical signals produced by the one ormore microphones315. In some embodiments, for example, theelectronics312 comprises many or all of the components of theelectronics112 described above with respect toFIG. 1C. In certain embodiments, theelectronics312 includes components described above with respect toFIG. 1F such as, for example, the one ormore processors112a, thememory112b, thesoftware components112c, thenetwork interface112d, etc. In some embodiments, theelectronics312 includes additional suitable components (e.g., proximity or other sensors).

Referring toFIG. 3D, theuser interface313 includes a plurality of control surfaces (e.g., buttons, knobs, capacitive surfaces) including afirst control surface313a(e.g., a previous control), asecond control surface313b(e.g., a next control), and athird control surface313c(e.g., a play and/or pause control). Afourth control surface313dis configured to receive touch input corresponding to activation and deactivation of the one ormicrophones315. Afirst indicator313e(e.g., one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or another suitable illuminator) can be configured to illuminate only when the one ormore microphones315 are activated. Asecond indicator313f(e.g., one or more LEDs) can be configured to remain solid during normal operation and to blink or otherwise change from solid to indicate a detection of voice activity. In some embodiments, theuser interface313 includes additional or fewer control surfaces and illuminators. In one embodiment, for example, theuser interface313 includes thefirst indicator313e, omitting thesecond indicator313fMoreover, in certain embodiments, theNMD320 comprises a playback device and a control device, and theuser interface313 comprises the user interface of the control device.

Referring toFIGS. 3A-3D together, theNMD320 is configured to receive voice commands from one or more adjacent users via the one ormore microphones315. As described above with respect toFIG. 1B, the one ormore microphones315 can acquire, capture, or record sound in a vicinity (e.g., a region within10mor less of the NMD320) and transmit electrical signals corresponding to the recorded sound to theelectronics312. Theelectronics312 can process the electrical signals and can analyze the resulting audio data to determine a presence of one or more voice commands (e.g., one or more activation words). In some embodiments, for example, after detection of one or more suitable voice commands, theNMD320 is configured to transmit a portion of the recorded audio data to another device and/or a remote server (e.g., one or more of thecomputing devices106 ofFIG. 1B) for further analysis. The remote server can analyze the audio data, determine an appropriate action based on the voice command, and transmit a message to theNMD320 to perform the appropriate action. For instance, a user may speak “Sonos, play Michael Jackson.” TheNMD320 can, via the one ormore microphones315, record the user's voice utterance, determine the presence of a voice command, and transmit the audio data having the voice command to a remote server (e.g., one or more of theremote computing devices106 ofFIG. 1B, one or more servers of a VAS and/or another suitable service). The remote server can analyze the audio data and determine an action corresponding to the command. The remote server can then transmit a command to theNMD320 to perform the determined action (e.g., play back audio content related to Michael Jackson). TheNMD320 can receive the command and play back the audio content related to Michael Jackson from a media content source. As described above with respect toFIG. 1B, suitable content sources can include a device or storage communicatively coupled to theNMD320 via a LAN (e.g., the network104 ofFIG. 1B), a remote server (e.g., one or more of theremote computing devices106 ofFIG. 1B), etc. In certain embodiments, however, theNMD320 determines and/or performs one or more actions corresponding to the one or more voice commands without intervention or involvement of an external device, computer, or server.

FIG. 3E is a functional block diagram showing additional features of theNMD320 in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. TheNMD320 includes components configured to facilitate voice command capture including voice activity detector component(s)312k, beam former components312l, acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) and/or self-sound suppression components312m, activationword detector components312n, and voice/speech conversion components312o(e.g., voice-to-text and text-to-voice). In the illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 3E, the foregoingcomponents312k-312oare shown as separate components. In some embodiments, however, one or more of thecomponents312k-312oare subcomponents of theprocessors112a. As noted below, in some embodiments theNMD320 can include activationword detector components312nconfigured to detect multiple different activation words associated with different VASes. For example, the activationword detector components312 can include a first activation-word detector configured to detect one or more activation words associated with a first VAS and a second activation-word detector configured to detect one or more activation words associated with a second VAS. In at least some embodiments, the voice input can be separately processed by one or both of these activation-word detectors. Upon detecting a first activation word using the first activation-word detector, theNMD320 may suppress operation of the second activation-word detector, for example by ceasing providing voice input to the second activation-word detector for a predetermined time. This can help avoid interruption and cross-talk between different VASes.

The beamforming and self-sound suppression components312land312mare configured to detect an audio signal and determine aspects of voice input represented in the detected audio signal, such as the direction, amplitude, frequency spectrum, etc. The voice activitydetector activity components312kare operably coupled with the beamforming andAEC components312land312mand are configured to determine a direction and/or directions from which voice activity is likely to have occurred in the detected audio signal. Potential speech directions can be identified by monitoring metrics which distinguish speech from other sounds. Such metrics can include, for example, energy within the speech band relative to background noise and entropy within the speech band, which is measure of spectral structure. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, speech typically has a lower entropy than most common background noise. The activationword detector components312nare configured to monitor and analyze received audio to determine if any activation words (e.g., wake words) are present in the received audio. The activationword detector components312nmay analyze the received audio using an activation word detection algorithm. If theactivation word detector312ndetects an activation word, theNMD320 may process voice input contained in the received audio. Example activation word detection algorithms accept audio as input and provide an indication of whether an activation word is present in the audio. Many first- and third-party activation word detection algorithms are known and commercially available. For instance, operators of a voice service may make their algorithm available for use in third-party devices. Alternatively, an algorithm may be trained to detect certain activation words. In some embodiments, theactivation word detector312nruns multiple activation word detection algorithms on the received audio simultaneously (or substantially simultaneously). As noted above, different voice services (e.g. AMAZON's ALEXA®, APPLE's SIRI®, or MICROSOFT's CORTANA®) can each use a different activation word for invoking their respective voice service. To support multiple services, theactivation word detector312nmay run the received audio through the activation word detection algorithm for each supported voice service in parallel.

The speech/text conversion components312omay facilitate processing by converting speech in the voice input to text. In some embodiments, theelectronics312 can include voice recognition software that is trained to a particular user or a particular set of users associated with a household. Such voice recognition software may implement voice-processing algorithms that are tuned to specific voice profile(s). Tuning to specific voice profiles may require less computationally intensive algorithms than traditional voice activity services, which typically sample from a broad base of users and diverse requests that are not targeted to media playback systems.

FIG. 3F is a schematic diagram of anexample voice input328 captured by theNMD320 in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Thevoice input328 can include anactivation word portion328aand avoice utterance portion328b. In some embodiments, the activation word557acan be a known activation word, such as “Alexa,” which is associated with AMAZON's ALEXA®. In other embodiments, however, thevoice input328 may not include a activation word. In some embodiments, a network microphone device may output an audible and/or visible response upon detection of theactivation word portion328a. In addition or alternately, an NMB may output an audible and/or visible response after processing a voice input and/or a series of voice inputs.

Thevoice utterance portion328bmay include, for example, one or more spoken commands (identified individually as afirst command328cand asecond command328e) and one or more spoken keywords (identified individually as afirst keyword328dand asecond keyword328f). In one example, thefirst command328ccan be a command to play music, such as a specific song, album, playlist, etc. In this example, the keywords may be one or words identifying one or more zones in which the music is to be played, such as the Living Room and the Dining Room shown inFIG. 1A. In some examples, thevoice utterance portion328bcan include other information, such as detected pauses (e.g., periods of non-speech) between words spoken by a user, as shown inFIG. 3F. The pauses may demarcate the locations of separate commands, keywords, or other information spoke by the user within thevoice utterance portion328b.

In some embodiments, themedia playback system100 is configured to temporarily reduce the volume of audio content that it is playing while detecting the activation word portion557a. Themedia playback system100 may restore the volume after processing thevoice input328, as shown inFIG. 3F. Such a process can be referred to as ducking, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/438,749, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIGS. 4A-4D are schematic diagrams of a control device430 (e.g., thecontrol device130aofFIG. 1H, a smartphone, a tablet, a dedicated control device, an IoT device, and/or another suitable device) showing corresponding user interface displays in various states of operation. A firstuser interface display431a(FIG. 4A) includes adisplay name433a(i.e., “Rooms”). A selectedgroup region433bdisplays audio content information (e.g., artist name, track name, album art) of audio content played back in the selected group and/or zone.Group regions433cand433ddisplay corresponding group and/or zone name, and audio content information audio content played back or next in a playback queue of the respective group or zone. Anaudio content region433eincludes information related to audio content in the selected group and/or zone (i.e., the group and/or zone indicated in the selectedgroup region433b). Alower display region433fis configured to receive touch input to display one or more other user interface displays. For example, if a user selects “Browse” in thelower display region433f, thecontrol device430 can be configured to output a seconduser interface display431b(FIG. 4B) comprising a plurality ofmusic services433g(e.g., Spotify, Radio by Tunein, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon, TV, local music, line-in) through which the user can browse and from which the user can select media content for play back via one or more playback devices (e.g., one of theplayback devices110 ofFIG. 1A). Alternatively, if the user selects “My Sonos” in thelower display region433f, thecontrol device430 can be configured to output a thirduser interface display431c(FIG. 4C). A firstmedia content region433hcan include graphical representations (e.g., album art) corresponding to individual albums, stations, or playlists. A secondmedia content region433ican include graphical representations (e.g., album art) corresponding to individual songs, tracks, or other media content. If the user selections agraphical representation433j(FIG. 4C), thecontrol device430 can be configured to begin play back of audio content corresponding to thegraphical representation433jand output a fourthuser interface display431dfourthuser interface display431dincludes an enlarged version of thegraphical representation433j,media content information433k(e.g., track name, artist, album), transport controls433m(e.g., play, previous, next, pause, volume), andindication433nof the currently selected group and/or zone name.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a control device530 (e.g., a laptop computer, a desktop computer). Thecontrol device530 includestransducers534, amicrophone535, and acamera536. Auser interface531 includes atransport control region533a, a playback status region533b, aplayback zone region533c, aplayback queue region533d, and a media content source region533e. The transport control region comprises one or more controls for controlling media playback including, for example, volume, previous, play/pause, next, repeat, shuffle, track position, crossfade, equalization, etc. The audio content source region533eincludes a listing of one or more media content sources from which a user can select media items for play back and/or adding to a playback queue.

The playback zone region533bcan include representations of playback zones within the media playback system100 (FIGS. 1A and 1B). In some embodiments, the graphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zones in the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones, creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, renaming of zone groups, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, a “group” icon is provided within each of the graphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon provided within a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectable to bring up options to select one or more other zones in the media playback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped, playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particular zone can be configured to play audio content in synchrony with the playback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” icon may be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. In the illustrated embodiment, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options to deselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zone group. In some embodiments, thecontrol device530 includes other interactions and implementations for grouping and ungrouping zones via theuser interface531. In certain embodiments, the representations of playback zones in the playback zone region533bcan be dynamically updated as playback zone or zone group configurations are modified.

Theplayback status region533cincludes graphical representations of audio content that is presently being played, previously played, or scheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. The selected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished on the user interface, such as within the playback zone region533band/or theplayback queue region533d. The graphical representations may include track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length, and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to know when controlling themedia playback system100 via theuser interface531.

Theplayback queue region533dincludes graphical representations of audio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playback zone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zone group may be associated with a playback queue containing information corresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playback zone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queue may comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resource locator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playback device in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve the audio item from a local audio content source or a networked audio content source, possibly for playback by the playback device. In some embodiments, for example, a playlist can be added to a playback queue, in which information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may be added to the playback queue. In some embodiments, audio items in a playback queue may be saved as a playlist. In certain embodiments, a playback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when the playback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audio content, such as Internet radio that may continue to play until otherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playback durations. In some embodiments, a playback queue can include Internet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “in use” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,” playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zone groups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playback zone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playback zone including a second playback queue, the established zone group may have an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that contains audio items from the first playback queue (such as if the second playback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audio items from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zone was added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio items from both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if the established zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zone may be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audio items from the playback queue associated with the established zone group before the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, the resulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previous second playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue that is empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associated with the established zone group before the established zone group was ungrouped.

FIG. 6 is a message flow diagram illustrating data exchanges between devices of the media playback system100 (FIGS. 1A-1M).

Atstep650a, themedia playback system100 receives an indication of selected media content (e.g., one or more songs, albums, playlists, podcasts, videos, stations) via thecontrol device130a. The selected media content can comprise, for example, media items stored locally on or more devices (e.g., theaudio source105 ofFIG. 1C) connected to the media playback system and/or media items stored on one or more media service servers (one or more of theremote computing devices106 ofFIG. 1B). In response to receiving the indication of the selected media content, thecontrol device130atransmits amessage651ato theplayback device110a(FIGS. 1A-1C) to add the selected media content to a playback queue on theplayback device110a.

Atstep650b, theplayback device110areceives themessage651aand adds the selected media content to the playback queue for play back.

Atstep650c, thecontrol device130areceives input corresponding to a command to play back the selected media content. In response to receiving the input corresponding to the command to play back the selected media content, thecontrol device130atransmits amessage651bto theplayback device110acausing theplayback device110ato play back the selected media content. In response to receiving themessage651b, theplayback device110atransmits amessage651cto thecomputing device106arequesting the selected media content. Thecomputing device106a, in response to receiving themessage651c, transmits amessage651dcomprising data (e.g., audio data, video data, a URL, a URI) corresponding to the requested media content.

Atstep650d, theplayback device110areceives themessage651dwith the data corresponding to the requested media content and plays back the associated media content.

Atstep650e, theplayback device110aoptionally causes one or more other devices to play back the selected media content. In one example, theplayback device110ais one of a bonded zone of two or more players (FIG. 1M). Theplayback device110acan receive the selected media content and transmit all or a portion of the media content to other devices in the bonded zone. In another example, theplayback device110ais a coordinator of a group and is configured to transmit and receive timing information from one or more other devices in the group. The other one or more devices in the group can receive the selected media content from thecomputing device106a, and begin playback of the selected media content in response to a message from theplayback device110asuch that all of the devices in the group play back the selected media content in synchrony.

III. Example Systems and Methods for Managing Multiple VASes

As discussed above, theMPS100 may be configured to communicate with remote computing devices (e.g., cloud servers) associated with multiple different VASes. Although several examples are provided below with respect to managing interactions between two VASes, in various embodiments there may be additional VASes (e.g., three, four, five, six, or more VASes), and the interactions between these VASes can be managed using the approaches described herein. In various embodiments, in response to detecting a particular activation word, theNMDs120 may send voice inputs over anetwork102 to the remote computing device(s) associated with thefirst VAS190 or the second VAS191 (FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, the one ormore NMDs120 only send thevoice utterance portion328b(FIG. 3F) of thevoice input328 to the remote computing device(s) associated with the VAS(es) (and not theactivation word portion328a). In some embodiments, the one ormore NMDs120 send both thevoice utterance portion328band theactivation word portion328a(FIG. 3F) to the remote computing device(s) associated with the VAS(es).

FIG. 7 is a message flow diagram illustrating various data exchanges between theMPS100 and the remote computing devices. Themedia playback system100 captures a voice input via a network microphone device inblock701 and detects an activation word in the voice input in block703 (e.g., via activation-detector components312n(FIG. 3E)). Once a particular activation word has been detected (block703), theMPS100 may suppress other activation word detector(s) inblock705. For example, if the activation word “Alexa” is detected in the voice utterance inblock703, then theMPS100 may suppress operation of a second activation-word detector configured to detect a wake word such as “OK, Google.” This can reduce the likelihood of cross-talk between different VASes, by reducing or eliminating the risk that second VAS mistakenly detects its activation word during a user's active dialogue session with a first VAS. This can also preserve user privacy by eliminating the possibility of a user's voice input intended for one VAS being transmitted to a different VAS.

In some embodiments, suppressing operation of the second activation-word detector involves ceasing providing voice input to the second activation-word detector for a predetermined time, or until a user interaction with the first VAS is deemed to be completed (e.g., after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last interaction—either a text-to-speech output from the first VAS or a user voice input to the first VAS). In some embodiments, suppression of the second activation-word detector can involve powering down the second activation-word detector to a low-power or no-power state for a predetermined time or until the user interaction with the first VAS is deemed complete.

In some embodiments, the first activation-word detector can remain active even after the first activation word has been detected and the voice utterance has been transmitted to the first VAS, such that a user may utter the first activation word to interrupt a current output or other activity being performed by the first VAS. For example, if a user asks Alexa to read a news flash briefing, and the playback device begins to play back the text-to-speech (TTS) response from Alexa, a user may interrupt by speaking the activation word followed by a new command. Additional details regarding arbitrating between activation-word detection and playback of content from a VAS are provided below with respect toFIG. 9.

With continued reference toFIG. 7, inblock707, themedia playback system100 may select an appropriate VAS based on particular activation word detected inblock703. If thesecond VAS191 is selected, themedia playback system100 may transmit one or messages (e.g., packets) containing the voice input to thesecond VAS191 for processing. In the illustrated message flow, thefirst VAS190 is selected inblock707. Upon this selection, themedia playback system100 transmits one or more messages709 (e.g., packets) containing the voice utterance (e.g.,voice utterance328bofFIG. 3F) to thefirst VAS190. Themedia playback system100 may concurrently transmit other information to thefirst VAS190 with the message(s)709. For example, themedia playback system100 may transmit data over a metadata channel, as described in for example, in previously referenced U.S. application Ser. No. 15/438,749.

Thefirst VAS190 may process the voice input in the message(s)709 to determine intent (block711). Based on the intent, thefirst VAS190 may sendcontent713 via messages (e.g., packets) to themedia playback system100. In some instances, the response message(s)713 may include a payload that directs one or more of the devices of themedia playback system100 to execute instructions. For example, the instructions may direct themedia playback system100 to play back media content, group devices, and/or perform other functions. In addition or alternatively, thefirst content713 from thefirst VAS190 may include a payload with a request for more information, such as in the case of multi-turn commands.

In some embodiments, thefirst content713 can be assigned to different categories that are treated differently when arbitrating between content received from different VASes. Examples of thefirst content713 include (i) text-to-speech (TTS) responses (e.g., “it is currently 73 degrees” in response to a user's query regarding the temperature outside), (ii) alarms and timers (e.g., timers set by a user, calendar reminders, etc.), (iii) user broadcasts (e.g., in response to a user instructing Alexa to “tell everyone that dinner is ready,” all playback devices in a household are instructed to play back “dinner is ready”), and (iv) other media content (e.g., news briefings, podcasts, streaming music, etc.). As used herein a TTS response can include instances in which a VAS provides a verbal response to a user input, query, request, etc. to be played back via a playback device. In some embodiments, thefirst content713 received from thefirst VAS190 can include metadata, tags, or other identifiers regarding the type of content (e.g., a tag identifying thefirst content713 as TTS, as an alarm or timer, etc.). In other embodiments, theMPS100 may inspect thefirst content713 to otherwise determine to which category thefirst content713 belongs.

At any point along this process, thesecond VAS191 may transmitsecond content715 via messages (e.g., packets) to themedia playback system100. Thissecond content715 may likewise include a payload that directs one or more of the devices of themedia playback system100 to execute instructions such as playing back media content or performing other functions. Thesecond content715, like thefirst content713, can take a variety of forms including a TTS output, an alarm or timer, a user broadcast, or other media content. Although thesecond content715 here is illustrated as being transmitted at a particular time in the flow, in various embodiments the second content may be transmitted earlier (e.g., prior to transmission of thefirst content713 from thefirst VAS190 to the MPS100) or later (e.g., after theMPS100 has output a response inblock719, for example by playing back the first content713). In at least some embodiments, thesecond content715 is received during playback of thefirst content713.

Inblock717, theMPS100 arbitrates between thefirst content713 received from thefirst VAS190 and thesecond content715 received from thesecond VAS191. Following arbitration, theMPS100 may output a response inblock719. The particular operations performed during arbitration between the first and second content may depend on the characteristics of the first and second content, on the particular VASes selected, the relative times at which the first and second content are received, and other factors. For example, in some cases, theMPS100 may suppress the second content while playing back the first content. As used herein, suppressing the second content can include delaying playback of the second content, pausing playback of the second content (if playback is already in progress), and/or canceling or ceasing playback of the second content altogether. In some cases, theMPS100 may suppress the first content while playing back the second content. In some embodiments, suppressing playback of the first content can include “ducking” the first content while the second content is played back concurrently with the first content.

When arbitrating between the first and second content inblock717, theMPS100 may rely at least in part on the category of content (e.g., a TTS output, an alarm or timer, a user broadcast, or other media content) received from each VAS to determine how playback should be handled. Various examples are provided below, in which theMPS100 arbitrates between thefirst content713 and thesecond content715, for example by determining which content to play back and which to suppress, as well as whether to queue, duck, or cancel the suppressed content, etc.

In one example, thefirst content713 is a TTS response, an alarm or timer, or a user broadcast, and thesecond content715 is a timer or alarm. In this instance, the second content715 (timer or alarm) may interrupt and cancel or queue thefirst content713. This permits a user's pre-set alarms or timers to be honored for their assigned times, regardless of the content currently being played back.

In another example, thefirst content713 is a TTS response, an alarm or timer, or a user broadcast, and thesecond content715 is a user broadcast. In this instance, the second content715 (user broadcast) is queued until after the first content is played back, without suppressing or otherwise interrupting the first content. This reflects the determination that, within a single household, it may be undesirable for one user's broadcast to interrupt playback of other content, such as another user's active dialogue session with a VAS.

In an additional example, thefirst content713 can be streaming media (e.g., music, a podcast, etc.), and thesecond content715 can be a TTS response, a timer or alarm, or a user broadcast. In this case, thefirst content713 can be paused or “ducked” while thesecond content715 is played back. After playback of thesecond content715 is complete, thefirst content713 can be unducked or unpaused and playback can continue as normal.

In yet another example, thefirst content713 is other media such as a podcast, streaming music, etc., and thesecond content715 is also of the same category, for example another podcast. In this case, thesecond content715 may replace thefirst content713, and thefirst content713 can be deleted or canceled entirely. This reflects the assumption that a user wishes to override her previous selection of streaming content with the new selection via thesecond VAS191.

In still another example, thefirst content713 is an alarm or timer, and thesecond content715 is a TTS response that is received during playback of the alarm or timer. Here, the first content713 (alarm or timer) can be suppressed and the second content can be played back. In this instance, a user who has heard a portion of a timer or alarm likely does not wish the alarm or timer to resume after an intervening dialogue session with a VAS has ended.

As a further example, thefirst content713 can be a user broadcast, and thesecond content715 can be a TTS output, another user broadcast, or an alarm or timer. Here, thefirst content713 can be suppressed (e.g., queued or canceled) while the second content715 (the TTS output, the alarm or timer, or other user broadcast) is played back.

Although the above examples describe optional arbitration determinations made by theMPS100, various other configurations and determinations are possible depending the desired operation of theMPS100. For example, in some embodiments theMPS100 may allow play back of any user broadcasts over any other currently played back content, while in another embodiment theMPS100 may suppress playback of user broadcasts until playback of other media has completed. In various embodiments, theMPS100 may suppress playback of the second content while allowing playback of the first content (or vice versa) based on the type of content, other content characteristics (e.g., playback length), the time at which the respective content is received at theMPS100, particular user settings or preferences, or any other factor.

Inblock719, theMPS100 outputs a response, for example by playing back the selected content as determined via the arbitration inblock717. As noted above, this can include playing back thefirst content713 while suppressing (e.g., canceling or queuing) playback of thesecond content715, or alternatively this can include playing back thesecond content715 while suppressing (e.g., canceling, queuing, or ducking) playback of thefirst content713. In some embodiments, thefirst content713 sent from thefirst VAS190 may direct themedia playback system100 to request media content, such as audio content, from the media service(s)192. In other embodiments, theMPS100 may request content independently from thefirst VAS190. In either case, theMPS100 may exchange messages for receiving content, such as via amedia stream721 comprising, e.g., audio content.

Inblock723, the other activation word detector(s) can be re-enabled. For example, theMPS100 may resume providing voice4 input to the other activation-word detector(s) after a predetermined time or after the user's interaction with thefirst VAS190 is deemed to be completed (e.g., after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last interaction—either a text-to-speech output from the first VAS or a user voice input to the first VAS). Once the other activation word detector(s) have been re-enabled, a user may initiate interaction with any available VAS by speaking the appropriate activation word or phrase.

FIG. 8 is anexample method800 for managing interactions between a playback device and multiple VASes. Various embodiments ofmethod800 include one or more operations, functions, and actions illustrated byblocks802 through812. Although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different order than the order disclosed and described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon a desired implementation.

Method800 begins atblock802, which involves the playback device capturing audio input via one or more microphones as described above. The audio input can include a voice input, such asvoice input328 depicted inFIG. 3F.

Atblock804,method800 involves the playback device using a first activation-word detector (e.g., activationword detector components312nofFIG. 3E) to detect an activation word in the audio input. In some embodiments, the activation word can be one or more of (i) the activation word “Alexa” corresponding to AMAZON voice services, (ii) the activation word “Ok, Google” corresponding to GOOGLE voice services, or (iii) the activation word “Hey, Siri” corresponding to APPLE voice services.

Responsive to detecting the first activation word in the audio input inblock804, the playback device transmits a voice utterance of the audio input to a first VAS associated with the first activation word inblock806. For example, if the detected activation word inblock804 is “Alexa,” then then inblock806 the playback device transmits the voice utterance to one or more remote computing devices associated with AMAZON voice services. As noted previously, in some embodiments, the playback device only transmits thevoice utterance portion328b(FIG. 3F) of thevoice input328 to the remote computing device(s) associated with the first VAS (and not theactivation word portion328a). In some embodiments, the playback device transmits both thevoice utterance portion328band theactivation word portion328a(FIG. 3F) to remote computing device(s) associated with the first VAS.

Inblock808, the playback device receives first content from the first VAS, and inblock810, the playback device receives second content from a second, different VAS. Inblock810, the playback device arbitrates between the first content and the second content. As described above with respect toFIG. 7, this arbitration can depend at least in part on the category of each content, for example (i) TTS responses, (ii) alarms or timers, (iii) user broadcasts, and (iv) other media content (e.g., news briefings, podcasts, streaming music, etc.). In some embodiments, an alarm or timer may interrupt any other active playback, whether a TTS response, another alarm or timer, a user broadcast, or other media content. In some embodiments, a user announcement does not interrupt a TTS response, an alarm or timer, or another user announcement, but instead is queued to be played back after the first content has been played back completely. Various other rules and configurations for arbitration can be used to manage content received from two or more VASes to enhance user experience, as described above.

In one outcome of the arbitration inblock812, themethod800 continues inblock814 with playing back the first content while suppressing the second content. Such suppression can take the form of delaying playback of the second content until after the first content has been played back or canceling playback of the second content altogether.

In an alternative outcome of the arbitration inblock812, the method continues inblock816 with interrupting playback of the first content with playback of the second content. The first content, which is interrupted, can either be canceled altogether, or can be queued for later playback after the first content has been played back in its entirety. In some embodiments, the first playback is “ducked” while the second content is played back. After the second content has been played back completely, the first content can be “unducked”.

FIG. 9 is anexample method900 for managing activation-word detection during playback of content from a voice assistant service (VAS). Various embodiments ofmethod900 include one or more operations, functions, and actions illustrated byblocks902 through918. Although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different order than the order disclosed and described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon a desired implementation.

Method900 begins atblock902, with receiving first content from a first VAS, and inblock904 the playback device plays back the first content. In various embodiments, the first content can be an alarm or timer, a user broadcast, a TTS output, or other media content.

Atblock906, the playback device captures audio input via one or more microphones as described above. The audio input can include a voice input, such asvoice input328 depicted inFIG. 3F.

Atblock908, the playback device arbitrates between the captured audio input and the playback of the first content from the first VAS. For example, the playback device may permit a detected activation word in the voice input to interrupt playback of the first device, or the playback device may suppress operation of the activation word detector so as not to interrupt playback of the first content. This arbitration can depend on the identity of the VAS that provides the first content, as well as the VAS associated with the potential activation word. This arbitration can also depend on the category of content being played back, for example an alarm/timer, a user broadcast, a TTS output, or other media content.

In one example, if the first content is a TTS output from a first VAS, the playback device may suppress operation of any activation-word detectors associated with any other VASes, while still permitting operation of the activation-word detector associated with the first VAS. As a result, a user receiving a TTS output from Alexa may interrupt the output by speaking the “Alexa” activation word, but speaking the “OK Google” activation word would not interrupt playback of the TTS output from Alexa.

In another example, if the first content is a user broadcast, the playback device may continue to monitor audio input for activation word(s) during playback. If an activation word is detected for any VAS, then the user broadcast can be canceled or queued while the user interacts with the selected VAS. In some embodiments, this interruption of a user broadcast is permitted regardless of which VAS directed the broadcast and which VAS is associated with the detected activation word.

In yet another example, if the first content is an alarm or timer, the playback device may continue to monitor audio input for activation word(s) during playback. If an activation word is detected, then the timer or alarm can be canceled or queued while the user interacts with the selected VAS. In some embodiments, this interruption of a timer or alarm is permitted regardless of which VAS directed the timer or alarm and which VAS is associated with the detected activation word.

Various other rules and configurations are possible for arbitrating between playback of content from a first VAS and monitoring captured audio for potential activation word(s) of the first VAS and/or any additional VASes. For example, the playback device might permit a user to interrupt any content whatsoever if an activation word associated with a preferred VAS is spoken, while speaking an activation word associated with a non-preferred VAS may interrupt only certain content.

As one outcome following the arbitration inblock908, inblock910 the playback device suppresses the activation-word detector during playback of the first content. The activation-word detector can be suppressed by ceasing to provide captured audio input to the activation-word detector or by otherwise causing the activation-word detector to pause evaluation of audio input for a potential activation word. In this instance, the user is not permitted to interrupt the playback of the first content, even using an activation word.

In the alternative outcome following the arbitration inblock908, inblock912 the playback device enables the activation word detector, for example by providing the audio input to the activation word detector of the playback device. Atblock914,method900 involves the playback device using an activation-word detector (e.g., activationword detector components312nofFIG. 3E) to detect an activation word in the audio input. In some embodiments, the activation word can be one or more of (i) the activation word “Alexa” corresponding to AMAZON voice services, (ii) the activation word “Ok, Google” corresponding to GOOGLE voice services, or (iii) the activation word “Hey, Siri” corresponding to APPLE voice services.

Responsive to detecting the first activation word in the audio input inblock914, the playback device interrupts playback of the first content inblock916. In place of the content, an active dialogue or other interaction can proceed between the user and the VAS associated with the activation word detected inblock914. In some embodiments, the interruption can include canceling or queuing playback of the first content. In some embodiments, interruption of the first content can include “ducking” the first content while a user interacts with the VAS associated with the activation word detected inblock914.

IV. Conclusion

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices, playback zone configurations, voice assistant services, and media content sources provide only some examples of operating environments within which functions and methods described below may be implemented. Other operating environments and configurations of media playback systems, playback devices, and network devices not explicitly described herein may also be applicable and suitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

The description above discloses, among other things, various example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware. It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and should not be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that any or all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or components can be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software, exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the only ways) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of an invention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined with other embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrative environments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These process descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it is understood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at least one example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible, non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the software and/or firmware.

Claims (13)

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:

receiving an audio input via one or more microphones of a playback device;

monitoring the audio input for a first activation word associated a first voice assistant service (VAS) and for a second activation word associated with a second VAS different from the first VAS;

detecting, via a first activation-word detector of the playback device, the first activation word in the audio input;

after detecting the first activation word, suppressing monitoring the audio input for the second activation word;

after detecting the first activation word, transmitting, via the playback device, a voice utterance of the audio input to one or more remote computing devices associated with the first VAS;

receiving, from the one or more remote computing devices associated with the first VAS, first content to be played back via the playback device;

playing back, via the playback device, the first content;

while playing back the first content, receiving, from one or more remote computing device associated with the second VAS, second content to be played back via the playback device;

arbitrating between the first content and the second content, the arbitration based at least in part on the particular VAS associated with the first content and the second content, respectively;

playing back, via the playback device, the second content while suppressing the first content;

after suppressing the first content, resuming playback of the first content; and

after resuming playback of the first content, resuming monitoring the audio input for at least the second activation word.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein suppressing monitoring audio input for the second activation word comprises powering down a second activation-word detector to a low-power or no-power state.

3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising suppressing monitoring audio input for the second activation word associated with the second VAS while a user is interacting with the first VAS.

4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the arbitrating is based at least on a characteristic of at least one of the first and second contents.

5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the characteristics of the first and second contents considered in the arbitrating step comprises at least one of:

the first content comprises a text-to-speech output; or

the second content comprises at least one of: an alarm, a user broadcast, or a text-to-speech output.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein suppressing playback of the first content comprises one of:

canceling playback of the first content; or

delaying playback of the first content.

7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first and second content have the same category of content.

8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first content is one of:

a timer or an alarm.

9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein suppressing playback of the first content comprises at least one of:

canceling playback of the first content;

delaying playback of the first content;

ducking the first content while playing back the second content; or

interrupting the first content while playing back the second content.

10. Tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a playback device to perform the method ofclaim 1.

11. A playback device, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more microphones;

one or more speakers; and

the tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium ofclaim 10.

12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the arbitrating is based at least in part in the relative times at which the first and second content are received.

13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the arbitrating is based at least in part on the identity of the first VAS and/or the second VAS.

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